Saudi Arabia presents promising export opportunities for South African poultry producers, but the industry body says it received an invitation to join a trade mission to the country with the Department of Trade and Industry far too late.

By Carien Kruger, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad

“The invitation reached us far too late,” says Izaak Breitenbach, CEO of the Broiler Organisation of the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), referring to the trade mission that took place from Monday to Wednesday, 10–12 November.

According to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, it supported a group of 12 South African companies – mainly from the food-processing and medical-equipment sectors – to take part in the visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The aim was to explore potential partnerships and promote market access for South African value-added products and services.

Mogobo Magabe, South Africa’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, says about 20 South African companies are already working with distributors to export red-meat products to Saudi Arabia, and opportunities for poultry exports are now being investigated. “Last year alone, up to 200 new restaurants opened there, all of which need a reliable supply of chicken.”

Breitenbach has confirmed that strong export opportunities exist for local poultry. “Local companies have invested in facilities for producing cooked chicken and are prepared for an inspection needed for potential exports,” he says. “We’ve asked the Department of Agriculture to arrange this inspection as soon as possible.

“Remember, when we export, the importing country inspects the Department of Agriculture’s capacity to meet their requirements. The industry cannot request the inspection itself.” He says he will raise the issue further with Magabe.

For now, the industry is seeking approval to export cooked chicken to Saudi Arabia, with the hope that this can later be expanded to other poultry products.

“I ask every week how far we are with finalising the protocol, but we are simply not making progress,” he says. “I have also referred the matter to the office of John Steenhuisen, the minister of agriculture.”

Also read: A road map for inclusive growth in the poultry sector

Exports to the UK Remain a Distant Goal

British officials visited South Africa in May this year to assess whether South African chicken could be exported to the UK.

Dr Mpho Maja, director of animal health at the Department of Agriculture, said at the AVI Africa Poultry Conference & Exhibition in June that the visit went well overall, but that the UK had raised a few concerns.

Breitenbach is also monitoring this process weekly, but “there is still no progress. The Department of Agriculture needs to follow up. We are extremely eager for a decision that will allow the export of cooked chicken.”

Also read: When you fail to plan, you plan to fail – SAPA on Poultry Sector Master Plan

‘One of the Country’s Most Important Agricultural Sectors’

In strong criticism of how the broiler industry is overlooked, the anti-dumping organisation FairPlay wrote in its weekly newsletter that John Steenhuisen “clearly needs a refresher course on the importance of the country’s poultry industry”.

According to FairPlay, South Africa’s beef producers were treated as “very important persons (VIPs)” as part of a business delegation during a recent state visit to countries in Southeast Asia. Neither that delegation nor the latest trip to Saudi Arabia included representatives from the poultry industry.

FairPlay notes that Steenhuisen praised the industry at the national poultry congress in July, calling it “one of the country’s most important agricultural sectors” and emphasising the government’s focus on expanding exports.

He promised that export protocols would be accelerated, that biosecurity measures would be improved to meet international standards, and that the government’s outreach to foreign markets would be professional, strategic and responsive.

Since then, Steenhuisen has spoken at various events about new bilateral protocols for table grapes, beef, citrus and avocados, and congratulated farmers for exporting citrus to China, Wagyu beef to the Gulf states and wine to Berlin, Germany.

FairPlay says it has not heard him mention poultry exports, even though export promotion is a central pillar of the poultry master plan, which is currently under review.

The 2019 master plan aims to double or even triple poultry exports within a decade. Yet exports have barely grown since then and, according to FairPlay, are currently only marginally higher than in 2019.

“The chicken industry produces twice as much meat as the beef producers, who come in for frequent ministerial praise. FairPlay hopes the agriculture minister will make time to meet poultry industry leaders, and to visit one of the chicken production facilities that help provide affordable protein for millions of South Africans.

“That should remind him how much the poultry sector value chain matters to South Africa, and of its substantial export potential.”